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Smoking Psychological Dependence

It’s easy to understand the physical dependence related to cigarettes: the nicotine in cigarettes acts as a stimulant and your body becomes increasingly dependent on this stimulant to function. But what about the emotional role cigarettes play? This psychological dependence is the hard part for most smokers to beat.

Smoking can become something you associate with other activities, to the point that when you engage in these activities, your desire for a cigarette increases. For example, if you always smoke on your way to class, going to class can be a trigger to smoke. This can be true even after you’ve quit smoking and even after you’re “over” the physical withdrawal from cigarettes. Triggers can be sights, smells, sounds, or even people with whom you associate smoking. It is important for you to identify and remind yourself of your triggers. Some of your triggers may be things you can avoid, but for some of them, you will need to spend time creating a plan as to how you will handle that situation without a cigarette.